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The Oscars
Feb. 23rd, 2009 08:56 am
So that was the best awards ceremony I've seen in a long time...possibly ever. Jackman was refreshingly earnest and unabashedly fun; he reminded me of Craig Ferguson, only with a hotter accent. And holy cats, he looks great in a tuxedo. :9
I know people are going to be crabby about the idea of past Oscar winners describing what was great about the performances of this year's nominees, but I thought it was really well done. It's a format that could grow stale, and with the wrong presenter who will use the task as an opportunity to steal the spotlight (I'm looking at *you* Cuba Gooding, Jr.), it could be disastrous. Most of the presenters, though, really did a great job with it, and fit the show's newfound purpose ("celebrating the year in movies") quite well.
The way the awards were presented really worked well, too -- tracing the path that a movie takes from writing to pre-production to post-production helped to give the show cohesion, which isn't entirely necessary but works well enough to keep it. The presenters were awesome, and the montages (a necessary evil) were far better than they'd been in recent years. Overall I'd say the show was a resounding success. I hope they keep the new format for next year!
Sean Penn had a sense of humor. Both Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz were adorable. Ben Stiller's bit was hilarious, but I felt a little bad for Joaquin Phoenix. It feels like Hollywood is turning its back on him. When Reese Witherspoon takes a dig at you on national television, it's clear how low you are on the totem pole.
Anyway. Yay "Slumdog"!!
I know people are going to be crabby about the idea of past Oscar winners describing what was great about the performances of this year's nominees, but I thought it was really well done. It's a format that could grow stale, and with the wrong presenter who will use the task as an opportunity to steal the spotlight (I'm looking at *you* Cuba Gooding, Jr.), it could be disastrous. Most of the presenters, though, really did a great job with it, and fit the show's newfound purpose ("celebrating the year in movies") quite well.
The way the awards were presented really worked well, too -- tracing the path that a movie takes from writing to pre-production to post-production helped to give the show cohesion, which isn't entirely necessary but works well enough to keep it. The presenters were awesome, and the montages (a necessary evil) were far better than they'd been in recent years. Overall I'd say the show was a resounding success. I hope they keep the new format for next year!
Sean Penn had a sense of humor. Both Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz were adorable. Ben Stiller's bit was hilarious, but I felt a little bad for Joaquin Phoenix. It feels like Hollywood is turning its back on him. When Reese Witherspoon takes a dig at you on national television, it's clear how low you are on the totem pole.
Anyway. Yay "Slumdog"!!
